The present invention relates to a video broadcast system having the capability of providing selectable bit rate reduction of a plurality of program signals.
Conventional video broadcast systems for transmitting video signals from a central location to a plurality of remote viewing locations may be of several different types, including cable television systems and satellite-based broadcast systems. Since the overall bandwidth of a video broadcast system is limited, there is a limit to the number of video channels that can be included in a broadcast transmission.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,503 to Paik, et al. discloses a statistical multiplexing apparatus which is used to selectively compress a plurality of video signals prior to being broadcast. In the Paik, et al. system, each video signal is provided to an encoder prior to being broadcast. Each encoder is connected to a respective buffer, which is in turn connected to a multiplexer. Each encoder is connected to a controller, which generates coding level commands to control the degree to which the encoders compress the video signals.